FYS3240

PC-based instrumentation and microcontrollers

LabVIEW programming I LabVIEW basics

Spring 2013 – Lecture #2

Bekkeng 8.1.2013

Virtual Instruments

• LabVIEW programs are called virtual instruments, or VIs,

because their appearance and operation imitate physical

instruments, such as oscilloscopes and multimeters.

– A LabVIEW program has the file ending *.vi, e.g. test.vi

• LabVIEW contains a comprehensive set of tools for acquiring,

analyzing, displaying, and storing data, as well as tools to help

you troubleshoot code you write.

• In LabVIEW a VI is:

– A LabVIEW program when it is the top-file

– A SubVI when a VI is used in another VI

• A SubVI is similar to a function in other programming

languages

LabVIEW – Start up

• Click Blank VI

• or select File – New VI

LabVIEW – Blank VI (Untitled)

Two windows appear – ‘Block Diagram’ & ‘Front Panel’

Select window to show:

The block diagram contains the

graphical source code

The front panel is the user

interface (GUI) of a VI. You build

the front panel by using controls

and indicators

LabVIEW – Front Panel (the GUI)

Right mouse click to open important ‘Controls’ palette:

LabVIEW– Block Diagram

Right mouse click to open ‘Functions’ palette:

Relationship between Block Diagram

and Front Panel

The block diagram contains

Icons (objects) and wires

GUI (Front Panel)

Tools palette

• Used on Block Diagram & Front Panel

Write Text

Wiring tool to wire icons

together on the block diagram

Standard LabVIEW VIs - Example

LabVIEW demo

LabVIEW Express VIs

• LabVIEW includes configuration-based Express VIs

• With Express VIs for e.g. signal processing you can

interactively explore the various analysis algorithms, while

immediately seeing the results on the configuration dialog.

• The complexity associated with adding analysis and signal

processing algorithms into your measurement and

automation applications is significantly reduced by using

Express VIs.

• You configure them with dialog boxes (instead of programming)

• The Express VIs encompass the most common functions

• However, there is some overhead involved when choosing

to use ExpressVIs instead of using lower level VIs

– The Express VIs can degrade performance (speed). Specially the

“Write to Measurement File” Express VI should not be used for

high speed data streaming in DAQ applications

Express VI

Standard VIs vs. Express VIs

Example with Express VIs

Tutorial Name: ‘Generate, Analyze, and Display’

(from File – New)

Example with Express VIs II

Block Diagram:

LabVIEW demo

Example with Express VIs III

Front Panel:

Indicators

Control

LabVIEW - Indicators

• Select the wiring tool

• Right-click the VIs I/O connections

Front Panel Block Diagram

LabVIEW - Controls

Right-click the

While Loop’s

“stop symbol”

Front Panel Block Diagram

LabVIEW demo

Right-click

LabVIEW Data Types

• Color coding of terminals and block

diagram wires

Integer

String

Boolean

Dynamic

Floating-point numbers

The dynamic data type is a special type for use with Express

VIs. Because dynamic data undergoes an automatic

conversion to match the indicator to which it is wired, Express

VIs can slow down the block diagram execution speed

Use the Convert from/to Dynamic Data Express VI to convert

dynamic data to/from numeric, Boolean, waveform, and array

data for use with other VIs and functions

Right-click

LabVIEW Express VI – Simulate Signal

Double-click

for properties

LabVIEW Express VI – Amplitude and

Level Measurements

Double-click

for properties

LabVIEW Express VI – Write to File

LabVIEW – FFT Express VI

LabVIEW – Digital Filter Express VI

LabVIEW demo

- Signal generation, filtering,

FFT, and Write to file

Loops

Functions – Programming

– Structures:

While Loop:

For Loop:

Program Start, Abort execution and Error

indication

• Aborting a VI that uses external

resources, such as external

hardware, might leave the

resources in an unknown state by

not resetting or releasing them

properly. Design the VIs you

create with a stop button and use

it to avoid this problem.

Start (RUN) program button

Program Running indicator

Broken arrow – error in program

Abort Execution button

How VIs are compiled

• When you push the Run button, LabVIEW (the G- compiler)

translates the block diagram into clumps of machine code for

your platform

• LabVIEW will automatically compile your VI during load,

run or save (if necessary). In general, any change that is non

cosmetic will set a flag indicating that the VI needs to be

recompiled. When this flag is set the VI will automatically

compile when you run or save.

• Beginning with LabVIEW 2009 and continuing in LabVIEW

2010 many optimizations were added to the LabVIEW compiler

to speed up run-time performance of both VIs and executables

Start (RUN) program button

Standard LabVIEW VI – Help

Right-click

LabVIEW debugging techniques

• Execution highlighting

• Single-stepping

• Probe

• Breakpoints

Right-click wire

LabVIEW demo

Projects in LabVIEW & Executables

• Projects in LabVIEW consist of VIs, files necessary

for those VIs to run properly, and supplemental

files such as documentation or related links. Use

the Project Explorer window to manage projects

in LabVIEW

• File – New Project

• Adding files to the project:

– Right-click “My Computer”, and select Add – File ..

• Create a stand-alone windows application (e.g.

*.exe file)

– You must have a project open and saved to

configure a build specification.

– The LabVIEW Run-Time Engine must be installed

on any computer on which users run the application

or shared library. You can distribute the LabVIEW

Run-Time Engine with the application or shared

library. You can also include the LabVIEW Run-Time

Engine in an installer

LabVIEW – Help I

• Select Help»Show Context Help from the front panel or the block

diagram

• Move the cursor over to the graphical symbol to see the help

information

• Very useful when looking at functions in the ‘Functions’ palette:

LabVIEW demo

LabVIEW Help II

LabVIEW Help III - www.ni.com

NI Example Finder

• Search or browse through example programs

• Modify an existing example program to fit your application

• Copy and paste from an example into your own program

Further introduction to LabVIEW

• ”Getting Started with LabVIEW” pdf file

• ”LabVIEW Fundamentals” pdf file